You will need to sign on with your LLLID (La Leche League ID) before you can post. If you have never claimed your LLLID, create your LLLID now. To sign in, click the LLLID Sign On button in the upper right corner. Enter your LLLID Alias and click the button again.

BFing just to fall asleep?

my lo is 3 months & he wont sleep ALL day only cat naps, if im lucky (20-30 mins) & only on my chest. But later on in the day he gets super fussy & I can tell he is tired but the only way for him 2 nap is nursing, i dont know if he's hungry or just comfort. sometimes he will nurse pulls away opens his eyes & smiles then gets back on. is he hungry? i thought he was tired?
but he does sleep good at night only wakes up 2 times, 3 the most. so in the morning he nurses like crazy, so there i know he is hungry.
Is it bad for him to only fall alseep from nursing? & when i try to latch him off he somehow finds a way to latch back on QUICK!
im a 1st time mommy so im sorry if its a dumb question, but i take all of the info i get on here serious..u gals know ur stuff
thanks

Re: BFing just to fall asleep?

That sounds just like us at 3 months! Once my LO reached about 4 months (maybe a bit later), he started to take more predictable and longer naps. We sometime swaddle him for naps, which seems to help (but didn't help when he was only 3 mos old--nothing did).

As far as nursing to sleep: it's really a personal thing. I don't think there's anything wrong with it. Others will tell you that you'll never break him of the "habit." If that's true, I'll see you at the college dorm when our boys are 18.

I really appreciate this link because I have chosen to comfort nurse my baby and to allow him to nurse to sleep. I know he can fall asleep without me (he does it when I'm at work for my husband), and I know that someday he will grow out of his need to nurse to sleep. It's also useful right now because he's a very distractible 5 month old who doesn't eat all that well during the day, but packs it in before bed.

My mom told me only one piece of advice when I was pregnant with my son. She said, "Hold that baby. Treat him like a baby. These days will be over way too soon." Of course, being women, we both started to cry at this point. . . .

Hope that helps you some. Remember, no matter what you choose to do, it's your baby. Don't let people talk you out of it if you do want to nurse him to sleep. He'll be too big for it all too soon (or I'll see you at the college dorm every night).

Re: BFing just to fall asleep?

I had this same fear. They would only nurse to sleep until about 9 mo. Then I was able to put them in their cribs for naps and if really tired they would fall asleep within a few minutes. Just the past month have they started to not want to nurse before bedtime. I would not worry about it at 3-4 months. Enjoy the time while he is a baby and wants to nurse to sleep.

Re: BFing just to fall asleep?

I have that same exact issue right now. I was actually going to post about it myself! My LO is a little over 3 months as well. He will nurse just to fall asleep, but he won't stay asleep for long unless his mommy is taking a nap with him. If I fall asleep for an hour or two with him, he will sleep right through. But if I get up to do anything else, I can't count on him staying asleep for more than twenty minutes at the most. There were a few days recently where he didn't sleep all day as a result, and was the fussiest he has ever been by 7:00 pm (usually he is such an easy-going, happy baby). So I've just been committing to the naps the past few days to make sure my baby boy will be well rested (it just stinks though cuz what do you do on the days that you can't do this?)...Don't get me wrong, I wish I could take these naps every day with him! Who wouldn't?

Re: BFing just to fall asleep?

i can really understand your concerns ladies.
when my son was a few months old i was worried he would only be able to fall asleep at the breast and that it would interferre with my whole life and cause sleep problems for him.

now here we are at 23 months and i just made a post about how upset i am that he won't fall asleep at the breast.

what i have come to learn is that mothering through breastfeeding does not cause bad habits or dependence but rather, it is an easy, natural, full of benifits way to connect with my son and relax into each other's arms.

this is just something i've discovered for myself, and i think every mom has to find her own path, but i just wanted to share my own experience.

Re: BFing just to fall asleep?

Your LO sounds just like mine...except my LO didnt sleep as well at night!

I dont think there is ANYTHING wrong with nursing a 3 mo old to sleep...they are so little! Once nursing is finished and you think your LO is drifting off to sleep, you could also put a pacifier in...thats what I did.

Now at 9 mo old, my LO doesnt require nursing to sleep as often...only once in a while. At usually takes his pacifier out to sleep.

Re: BFing just to fall asleep?

Oh yes, I totally agree that nursing them to sleep is totally fine to do! I just wish my LO would stay asleep sometimes without me there, but I'm sure that he'll outgrow it eventually. For now I'll just work around it, because I do definitely enjoying our naps together.

Re: BFing just to fall asleep?

thank you ladies 4 the replies!
it made me realize that my mother instinct was okay & that my im not teaching him a bad habit
i have time right now to do it for his 1st 6 months, so i will spoil him
cause those 6 months will roll around quick, so i MUST make the MOST of our precious time together...just Izayah & Mommy

Re: BFing just to fall asleep?

Sorry to just be joining the replies, but I totally think you are doing the right thing! Sucking is so soothing to them, whenever my son would fall asleep nursing I would think "this is just the way it's supposed to be!" Now that he is 2 1/2 and always on the go, I long for those easy days!

However, I think a GREAT book about newborn sleep is the one by Marc Weissbluth called _Healthy Sleep Habits Happy Child_. He is very pro-breastfeeding, although his take is that it is better for your child to eventually learn to fall asleep on his or her own. That strategy is to eventually put your child to bed while they're drowsy, but still awake. Then they learn to self-soothe on their own and you don't have to let them cry it out . . .